


Secret Admirer

by consultingmuse



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: F/M, Suspense, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-05
Updated: 2014-05-28
Packaged: 2018-01-22 00:41:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1569644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/consultingmuse/pseuds/consultingmuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zhou Mei Lin is one of London's top assassins -- a Jill-of-all-trades. She's used to stalking her prey, hiding in the shadows. But she begins to receive strange messages from an anonymous admirer. Someone who knows quite a bit about a woman who's supposed to be invisible.  Suddenly she's the one being watched. Her new assignment: to uncover the identity of her stalker before she ends up becoming a victim herself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AN - be gentle, it's my first time ...posting that is. I appreciate any thoughts, constructive criticism. It's the first time I've written something this ambitious so I'm a bit nervous. ^^
> 
> This takes place prior to series 1. 
> 
> The only thing I own is my OC, otherwise any other canon characters belong to their respective owners.

Zhou Mei Lin adjusted her night vision goggles. 

She sat in a large tree, overlooking the rear of a very large, sprawling building. She blended into the shadows, clad entirely in black. Only her dark brown eyes shone in the darkness as she watched silently, trying to make out the number of guards moving between the Greco-Roman columns.

It was a government building, heavily guarded.  ‘Government’ was a term she used loosely. More like a dictatorship disguised as a benevolent democracy.  Her client requested some classified information which was on the hard drive of a certain individual’s computer.  An official or some sort.

She didn’t care who he was. All she needed to know was the man’s name, the location of his office and when she would receive payment.

She hardly needed the work. Mei Lin had enough of a reputation to collect a small fortune. She was just bored.  Although this job seemed simple enough, she never assumed anything was simple. Overlooking the tiniest detail could endanger the mission or worse, get you killed.

She picked the best time for this little caper. There was some sort of ball or banquet tonight so there would be a lot of people milling about. Security would be more concerned about watching over those people and not so much about the rest of the building.

Her target was about 500 yards away, but there were several guards blocking her path.

_Hmm, how to dispatch the guards without attracting attention_ , she tapped her fingers on her knee. She could use a silencer, but for once she wasn’t interested in creating casualties. She wanted to be as covert as possible. She stowed the goggles in her small backpack and pulled out a specialized gun just for this purpose.  She attached it to her belt, silently slipped out of the tree and ran to the end of the retaining wall that was hiding her from the view of the guards a few yards away.

Mei Lin readied her pistol, peeked over the wall and checked to see how many other guards were around.

_Hmm, only four? They’re dangerously overconfident, aren’t they?_

She figured once she took out the two near her, the others might be alerted and call for reinforcements.  So she waited.

She waited until the other two were out of sight before she shot the two guards, hitting them both slightly below their necks.  They dropped like two sacks of heavy bricks, unconscious.  They’d feel pretty horrible in the morning, but they should be thankful. Mei Lin could have easily killed them, which would probably be more merciful.  Most likely they’d be punished severely or worse.

Mei Lin snuck past their bodies and slipped under the balcony, where the other two guards were.  There was a stairway about 50 feet from her location leading upstairs. Her movements were almost feline in nature as she crept and slunk her way around to the balcony, where her prey was stationed.

Two poison darts and two more unconscious guards later, she had snuck past their checkpoint and made it safely and quietly inside the office. 

She looked back at the two men lying on the ground. They’d only be out for a few hours.

Despite her reputation as an assassin, she wasn’t a bloodthirsty killer. Cold and calculating, yes. Lethal? Always.  But that didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy her work. The ones who deserved of death….oh she took her time with them.  Some would say she was an artist with the blade.

It was times like these when she wished she had her katana, but had to leave it at home.  It would have drawn too much attention towards her at the airport.

Fortunately she disabled the video surveillance so she could enter the room undetected. Mei Lin quickly hacked into the system, copied the files she was looking for onto a memory stick cleverly disguised as a tube of lipstick, then erased any evidence of file transfer. Of course she wouldn’t be able to completely erase her tracks but by the time someone discovered what she had done, she’d be back in London.

She strapped her back pack on, crept out of the office and stayed in the shadows as she made her way to a hallway. She ducked into the women’s restroom and pulled her mask and back pack off.  She pulled out her weapons, the night vision goggles and a pair of black Louboutins out so she could turn the back pack inside out.  Now it looked more like a designer overnight bag.  She quickly stripped off her black leggings and top to reveal a slinky little black dress underneath. She slipped her shoes on, and stowed her belongings in the bag.  She wore no makeup during her jobs, but in this case she brought a compact, mascara and lip gloss.

_At least my mascara didn't run_ , she looked briefly in the mirror.  Waterproof mascara was a godsend. 

Mei Lin was just stowing the memory stick into her purse when another woman came in and stood by the mirror next to her to apply her lipstick and some face powder. She gave Mei Lin a courteous smile. The assassin returned the gesture with a friendly grin, then turned her attention to her reflection in the mirror, pretending to fix her hair. 

This woman had no clue she was standing next to a deadly, efficient killer and Mei Lin fought off the urge to roll her eyes. People could be so dull sometimes.

The woman left and Mei Lin’s friendly demeanor was replaced with a calculating frown.  She hoisted her “overnight bag” onto her shoulder and headed out to the main hall, where a large crowd was gathered. Everyone was in evening dress, so she came prepared.

It was a shame she was working. It looked like a hell of a party.  The food smelled heavenly.

There was even ballroom dancing. She loved waltzes.

She blended into the crowd, just as she noticed several security guards running towards the back of the building ….the area she had just vacated.

Mei Lin couldn’t hold back a smirk as she walked out of the building and hailed a cab, telling the driver to head for her hotel.

She’d send her client a text as soon as she was confident she was out of danger. She wasn’t exactly out of the woods yet. Once she was on the plane back to London, she’d consider this job complete.

About ten minutes later she was back at her hotel, with the memory stick safe in her purse.  She turned on the television and switched it to the news station, listening as she quickly unloaded her two guns – both Glock 17 and stowed them in her gun case, along with the ammo. Then she grabbed her small suitcase and packed the rest of her belongings.

She didn’t think she’d hear any news about her little caper. Most likely the government would cover it up anyway.

No matter. She wasn’t in this profession to become famous, although she was slowly garnering a reputation in the criminal underworld as a highly efficient Jill-of-all-trades.

She checked out and made it safely to the airport. So far so good.

Mei Lin was always a bit nervous when going through airport security. She was more paranoid about the memory sticks or electronics she carried more than her weapons.  Her fake identifications never gave her any problems.  She just appeared to be a young woman on a hunting trip of some sort.

She almost laughed. Hunting… Yeah, sure.  Her prey was much more dangerous than any bear or wildcat.  She headed to the gate and made it just in time. 

Still not out of the woods yet.

Mei Lin gave a little grin to the stewardess as she settled into her seat and put on her headphones.  Once they were in the air, she sent a text. 

> _[text: I have what you want. Arrange for delivery by the time I land. Z]_

She pressed ‘send’ and stared out the window, admiring the sea of clouds below her. Her clients only knew her by her surname Zhou. It was safer that way. Zhou was a relatively common surname in China.

_Ha, and to think I was getting bored of this life_ , she mused as she started up her favorite playlist. Blondie and Garbage always managed to drown out the airplane’s engines so well.

Actually she was bored. These sorts of jobs were just incredibly easy. There was no challenge.

Eh, on the plus side it was easy money.  Oh well.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN - thanks to all who commented, gave me kudos and left me positive feedback. I really appreciate it. 
> 
> And special thanks to my collaborator and beta reader moriarty-pet on Tumblr for ideas and overall support. <3
> 
> The same disclaimer for chapter 1 applies here too. I only own my original characters. Any other characters belong to their respective owners. I wish I was making money off of this but I'm not. *sobs*

As soon as Mei Lin got home, she collapsed on the sofa, exhausted.  Jet lag and hunger had made her tired and cranky. She needed food and a hot bubble bath.

Her flat was rather modest for someone that had the means to live anywhere she wanted. She couldn’t help it. She was frugal and tended not to want the attention that a sports car and flashy clothes would bring. She drove a cute little sporty coupe and didn’t wear designer labels, at least when she was at home. She of course would buy appropriate attire for “work.”

That meant tactical gear, under armor and lots and lots of black leggings.

….and the occasional little black dress.

She pulled off her shoes and tossed them onto the recliner closest to her. She didn’t know why she bothered with two recliners. She never invited anyone over.

Mei Lin was a loner. That sort of came with the territory, but she had always made an effort not to make friends.  They would be an Achilles Heel of sorts and she couldn’t afford to have any pressure points of any kind.  Her aunt and uncle would be considered pressure points if she even cared about them at all. She had dreamed for years to return to China to make them pay for what they had done to her.

Or perhaps she should thank them. She wouldn’t be where she was today if it weren’t for the abuse she put up with while living with them.

Mei Lin screwed her eyes shut. Where did that come from? She hadn’t thought of them in years.  For once she was in a good mood. She didn’t want to spoil it with bad memories.

She felt too lazy to cook so she ordered some take out, then made arrangements with her client to deliver the information she had stolen.  While she ate, she logged onto her laptop and checked her email accounts. She had several, all under aliases of course.

Then she checked to see if she had any messages on her blog. It was one of her few frivolous hobbies, besides playing the piano and photography.  Blogging about cats, Victorian architecture, gothic art and classical piano hardly seemed like the sort of hobby that would appeal to someone with her reputation.

She thought it was entertaining to observe what “normal” people did every day, since her life could hardly be called normal.  She killed people for a living.

There was one message that seemed to interest her. She laughed as she read it.

> _[anon: Hello sexy.]_

Mei Lin blinked then slowly smiled. He was back. The flirt.  She playfully sent a message back.

> _[RenRen: Hi. ;-) ]_
> 
> _[anon: Did you miss me?]_
> 
> _[RenRen: I admit I did miss your messages.]_

It wasn’t often that she got messages like this. But she had been receiving several of them for the past eight months or so.  After about a week she realized they were probably coming from the same person.

She didn’t know who her admirer was. She asked him once to come forward and drop the anonymous mask but he refused to.  She assumed it was a ‘he’ and that he was shy.  They started out rather harmless. Brief messages, but vague and flirtatious.  He definitely wasn’t shy.  She was never able to initiate a conversation with this anonymous person either. He never seemed to be on for more than five or ten minutes at a time.

Sexy? It was rather silly. No one knew what she looked like.  She wasn’t the type to post selfies of herself on the internet so how would they even know if she was sexy at all? 

She would have ignored the messages all together but something happened about three weeks ago that made her change her mind.  She came home from an assignment and noticed something was off.  Most people wouldn’t have noticed such a tiny detail, but it stuck out in Mei Lin’s mind.  She was trained to be highly observant. It was a skill that proved useful to her on so many occasions, she had lost count.

The vase on her dining table had been moved slightly.  It was always in the center of the table, but now it was off to one side by a few inches. Everything else was untouched.

Someone had broken into her flat.  It was the only explanation.

But nothing was stolen.  She had thousands of pounds worth of electronics and a big screen TV, not to mention her jewelry box. So who would just break in just to move her vase?  And it occurred after she lost contact with her secret admirer.  It was too coincidental.

Then again, she wondered if she had imagined it all.  She thought about mentioning it on her blog, but decided against it. As a precaution, she had her locks changed before she had left for her most recent trip.

So why was her admirer talking to her all of a sudden?  He was so odd. Sometimes he’d send her messages every day, then he’d stop for a week or two before starting up again.  This was the longest break so far.

She shrugged when he didn’t reply and turned her attention towards dinner.  _I watch too many of those Alfred Hitchcock thrillers. I’m just scaring myself._

For all she knew, she moved the vase herself and had forgotten. But not likely.

She put her plate and utensils in the dishwasher, then strolled into the bathroom and started the hot water for a long, leisurely bubble bath.  She stripped down and inspected the large bruises on her back, most likely from falling from the first tree she tried to climb, then frowned.

She could perform acrobatic feats, kung fu and dance gracefully around a ballroom, yet she couldn’t do something as simple as climb a tree without almost breaking her neck. She was a paradox, apparently.  _Well, no one’s perfect_ , she thought.

Mei Lin looked delicate, but she was used to getting bruised and beaten.  A long soak sounded so nice.

A little while later she was wrapped up in a fluffy terrycloth robe, her wet hair clinging to her shoulders.  She checked her messages again. She was chatting with a young lady about photography the other day and wondered if the girl had replied back. No messages from her, but the flirty anon was back. Mei Lin frowned at the cryptic tone.

> _[anon: I love to watch you dance.]_

That didn’t even make sense.  She turned her head to look out the window next to her desk.

There was a building across the way, but it was vacant.

…or maybe he was watching through the webcam.

Mei Lin shuddered, then grinned to herself.  _Get a hold of yourself, girl._  

She closed the lid to her laptop and finished drying her hair, then got dressed.  She needed to meet with her client at eight o’clock.  She offered to send the files via a secure link, but he wanted a face-to-face meeting.

She was exhausted, but business came first and Zhou Mei Lin was nothing but professional.

==

Mei Lin arrived at the meeting place an hour later.  It was at the end of the wharf, on the Thames.

It was raining now.  She rolled her eyes. This looked incredibly cliché but oh well. She adjusted her shoulder holster, checked her gun once more then slipped it into the holster.  She also had a butterfly knife in her jacket pocket.  She never left the flat without a gun and a knife.

Her client, a Mr. Randall McPherson, was waiting in a dark car about 50 yards away.  She carefully looked around. Mr. McPherson had promised a private meeting and they both agreed on the location.  It would be a bit difficult to hide backup out in the open. Unless he had a sniper on his payroll. Not likely.  He wasn’t that sort of criminal.

Oh he was a criminal, no matter how much he denied it. He insisted that he was just a businessman and needed this information to get ahead of his rivals.

_Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night_ , she mused with a laugh. 

She opened her umbrella and stepped out of her car as he stepped out of his. They approached each other and he stopped, keeping some distance between himself and the assassin.

Mei Lin gave him a little smile and arched her brow. “Why so skittish?  We could have met tomorrow, in the daytime or in a nice dry café, you know.”

“I wanted to get this over with,” he said, looking a bit uncomfortable under her scrutinizing stare.

Mei Lin had a habit of staring at someone, unblinking for minutes at a time. She did it just to unnerve them and she got a kick out of watching them squirm.  She waited for a few more seconds, then smirked at him.

McPherson grew annoyed at her antics. “You have it?”

She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “Right here,” she held up the lipstick tube, sealed in a clear plastic bag. “Do you have my payment?”

“I can wire the funds into your account right now,” he said quickly.

She smiled.  “Good,” her smile suddenly dropped and her voice turned cold. “Do it right now.”

McPherson sighed in irritation. “Right now?”

Mei Lin pulled her jacket open, revealing the Glock strapped to her body. She arched a brow at him. “Did I stutter? Yes! NOW.  Or I toss this into the Thames,” she dangled the bag over the wharf.

McPherson rolled his eyes and huffed. “Fine,” he pulled out his smartphone.

She watched him as he pressed the touchscreen several times, apparently sending her the money electronically.  She was skeptical, as always. “If you renege on our deal, just know that I’ll be paying you a visit,” Mei Lin gave a sinister little grin as she slipped her hand into her jacket for her phone.

The man laughed.

Mei Lin blinked. That was not the reaction she was expecting.  She nodded slowly. “Laughing?  Hmm. Okay,” her eyes turned into dark slits.  “You know what I do for a living. It’s not wise to laugh at me,” her head tilted slightly.

He abruptly stopped at the sight of her eyes boring into his, and he visibly gulped.

“Better.” She looked down at her iPhone and verified the payment had been deposited into her account.  “Ah, well done. Here you go,” she smiled brightly and tossed the bag containing the memory stick at him.  “So why do you find me so amusing? Is it because I’m a woman?” If that was the reason she would have been sorely disappointed. Even in this day and age she felt she wasn’t taken seriously because of her gender and it pissed her off.

“Well…. It is rather difficult to take you seriously.”

Mei Lin’s eyes narrowed. _I knew it_.  “Oh? How so?”

The man paled. “I’d rather not say. It’s just your… reputation isn’t as sparkling as you made it out to be.”

She almost snorted in derision. “Of course it’s not sparkling, I kill people for a living.”

“That’s not it ….they say you aren’t exactly reliable.  You’re too soft, you break under pressure,” his voice grew weaker, as if he were afraid to voice these statements aloud.

“They? Who is ‘they?’” Mei Lin approached closer, wearing a mask of fury.  “You think I’m soft? Far from it,” her voice grew icy.  She quickly pulled her gun on him.  “In fact, I could kill you right now, so tell me….who is spreading lies about me?”

McPherson shook his head. “Sorry.  As frightened as I am of you ….he scares me more.”

_Ah. Not a ‘they.’ A ‘he.’_   Mei Lin’s face wore a contemplative expression, a slow half smile graced her lips, but she kept the gun steady on him. “Really? Oh now I’m curious.  Give me a name.”

“You know what curiosity did to the cat?”

“I wouldn’t be too concerned, Mr. McPherson.  I can handle myself.”  She rolled her eyes at him and slipped her gun back in the holster.  She could just kill him, but what was the point? He was a coward, plain and simple.  Then again, he did agree to meet with her, without bodyguards.  Why?

Her eyes darted around the rainy landscape. He didn't come alone.  Someone was watching her.  But where? Was it this mysterious man that terrified McPherson?

She slowly smiled. “Well, I suppose I’ll have to find him myself then. It’s been lovely doing business with you, Mr. McPherson but I must be off.  Another client.”

McPherson just looked relieved to be leaving and nodded as he backed away from her. “Right.  Thank you again, Miss Zhou.”

She waited until he had practically ran to his car and drove off, then she climbed into her own car and sat inside for a moment, scanning the area. She chewed her bottom lip slightly – a quirk of hers. She tended to bite her lip when she was thinking or nervous.

“Who are you?” She muttered under her breath, thinking about this person that seemed to hold so much power over McPherson.  Until now she thought he was just some minor lowlife but now it appeared that he was just a puppet in someone’s grand scheme.

So who was the puppet master?

If she could, she would have stayed there all night to see if this mystery man would show but she had another job to work on.  A hit.

She sighed as she started the car and drove away. Another long night was ahead of her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning, this chapter contains depictions of violence and gore (I don't think it's gory but some might).
> 
> As always, please leave positive feedback/constructive criticism. :)
> 
> And if you flame me ...I will use those flames to burn you. I will burn the HEART out of you.
> 
> Disclaimer - sadly I don't own anything but my warped imagination and any original characters. Any other characters belong to their respective owners.

Mei Lin drove about ten minutes north from the wharf to an office building overlooking the Thames.

Well, it used to be an office building. Now it was just space for rent.  She knew the owner and used one of the top offices as a meeting place for clients.  She preferred this to meeting at her flat, and the rent was cheap.  It wasn’t safe to meet clients at her own place and besides she didn’t trust anyone.

Mei Lin made her way inside and started the electric kettle. Her client would probably appreciate a cup of tea.

Her newest client called her a few hours ago, while she was in mid-flight. A young woman, about her own age, wanted help in tracking down her abusive husband.  She didn’t want to give Mei Lin her real name, so the assassin dubbed her Teresa.

Apparently the idiot wasn’t too keen about their impending divorce and was stalking Teresa, who was now living on her own. It had gotten to the point where the man was assaulting her on a regular basis, breaking into her flat—

Mei Lin smiled grimly. She had plenty of experience in that matter.

So it was obvious what the girl wanted …she wanted him dead before he got to her first. This wasn’t the usual sort of hit Mei Lin accepted, but she agreed to help Teresa out of boredom.

For the past several weeks, clients were coming few and far in between. She was beginning to blame this mysterious “puppet master,” as she liked to call him. What sort of lies was he spreading about her?

This last job was rather simplistic, too.  Taking out middle-aged security guards and stealing electronic files was child’s play.

Perhaps she was too picky but now she literally couldn’t afford to be finicky about what assignments to accept.  She was reduced to taking out abusive husbands now, and it irked her.  But she really had no choice.

Mei Lin agreed to meet Teresa at her “office” to discuss payment.  That was rather puzzling too.

She heard a door open from the hallway, and Mei Lin rose from her chair, keeping one hand on her gun.

Teresa’s head peeked in, and the girl smiled shyly.  A large, fading bruise graced one side of her face and she probably had more of them underneath her long sleeves.  “Miss Zhou?”

Mei Lin’s normally cold nature softened slightly at the sight of her client.  She looked a bit shaken. “Yes, please sit down.  Would you care for some tea?”

Teresa simply nodded, looking a bit worried.

“Don’t worry. Nothing will be traced back to you,” Mei Lin poured a cup and handed the cup and saucer to the frightened woman.  “If you’d like, you may stay here until I give you the all clear.”

Teresa’s eyes widened and a smile appeared on her face. “Really?  That’s very kind of you—“

“Don’t mistake my generosity for kindness,” Mei Lin’s said abruptly.  “I just don’t like bullies….and there’s still the matter of payment.”

Teresa nodded, her smile dropping. “Of course.  I can pay whatever you want.”

The assassin tilted her head slightly, scrutinizing the young woman. “Really? My services don’t come cheap.  I usually charge between £1,000 to £20,000 per hit.  Of course it’s just your loser husband ….he’s not worth more than £7,000,” she sniffed.

Her client’s brow furrowed. “It’s so much.”

Mei Lin gave a frown. “That’s the price. I’m being generous, remember?”

Teresa sighed. “Okay.  I can pay that, but I can I pay half now and half later? I don’t know how this works.”

Mei Lin’s lips quirked into a little grin. “Hmm…that’s acceptable.  I have a feeling you wouldn’t try to leave town without giving me the rest of my payment.”

The young woman shook her head, eyes widening. “Oh no, of course not.”  She pulled out her check book, scribbled out a check for £3,500 and handed it to Mei Lin, who took it with a satisfied expression.

“Good.  Now tell me …where is the son-of-a-bitch now?”

“He might be at the house,” Teresa wrung her hands. “I know he tends to work from the house on Tuesdays, so he could be there.”

“Do you have home security?”

Teresa shook her head. “No.  I had always insisted but he refused.  I suppose that’s just as well now.”

“And he’s alone?”

“Probably, unless he’s with one of those women he picks up,” Teresa actually spat. “Here’s the address,” she handed the assassin a slip of paper.

Mei Lin’s smirk turned into a wide grin as she glanced at it. “Great!  So just stay here, make yourself at home. I’ll text you the good news in a bit.  Is there any particular instruction you’d like to give me?”

Teresa frowned in confusion. “Instruction? I don’t—“

“Do you want the bastard to suffer?” Mei Lin’s eyes darkened.

Teresa’s mouth hung open slightly for a moment, then her expression hardened. “Yes.  I don’t like to admit it, but I’ll be quite happy to know he’ll be begging for mercy at the end.”

Mei Lin giggled. “That’s all I needed to know. You’ll be hearing from me.  In the meantime, lock the door and if you touch anything you’ll be joining your soon-to-be dearly departed creep of a husband.”

She didn’t notice her client gulping in fear as she left the room.

==

Mei Lin headed for the address her client had given her.  It was about an hour outside of London, in Chesham. While she drove her thoughts turned to the current job.

Usually she preferred to kill from a distance but she wanted to make an exception with this one. Mei Lin would take her sweet time with him.  It wasn’t out of sentiment either. She hardly knew Teresa, or whatever her real name was. She really didn’t care. She just hated seeing any woman beaten and abused for no reason whatsoever. She didn’t trust many people but she could see in Teresa’s eyes that she spoke the truth.  _Thank goodness they didn’t have children_ , Mei Lin thought grimly.

Perhaps she was taking this a bit too personally.  She was the product of an abusive home, after all.

Mei Lin blinked and made a face.  _It’s a paycheck, nothing more_ , she told herself.

She finally arrived in Chesham and managed to find the address.  She turned her headlights off as she approached the house.  It was nestled among some evergreens, so the cover would provide some privacy.  She pulled into a spot between the trees to conceal her car, then changed into her “work” clothes.  Once she was ready, she climbed out of the car, strapped her katana onto her back and slipped through the trees and approached the house.

It was about 11 pm.  She doubted the man would be awake but Teresa had said he was a workaholic. Sure enough, there was a single light on in a second story window. She grinned behind her mask and crept up to the back door. She jiggled the handle slightly, then picked the lock.

_Oh, so sloppy_ , she thought as the door slowly opened. She shut the door quietly, then waited.

There were no further footsteps. Perhaps he had returned to his office.

Mei Lin knew the basic layout of the house, thanks to her client.  She cautiously approached the door to his office and decided to wait in the shadows. She pulled out her gun, silencer attached and held her breath.

He came out of the room and was met with two shots to his kneecaps.  He couldn’t even cry out in pain or shock, it had happened so fast.  The only sound in the house was the echo of bones cracking and a muffled scream.  He slumped to the ground, his knees were a bloody, gory mess.

Mei Lin smiled behind her mask and bent down to look at him in the eye. “Hello.  I have a message for you.”

She watched him as he tried to crawl away from her in an attempt to reach the phone.  He was leaving a bloody trail across the hard wood floor.  She shot the phone to pieces and he shrank back.

“Oh no, can’t have that,” she said brightly.  “Now …as I was saying: your wife has told me about all the horrible things you’ve done to her--”

Mei Lin got a mouthful of spit in her face and she hardly flinched. It was fortunate she was wearing a mask. Her eyes narrowed into slits.

“That bitch sent you, didn’t she?  I should kill her!” He growled, hissing in pain as the shock wore off.

She laughed. “Wow. You’re threatening her as you’re lying there, bleeding? Why don’t I add a few more holes, I’m finding you extremely annoying,” she suddenly fired two more shots, one in his shoulder and one to his left hand, blowing off two fingers.

Now he was screaming his head off.

“Hmm…wondered when you’d start,” she rolled her eyes, almost skipping over to where he was lying, tears of agony and pain running down his face.

“Just kill me already,” he begged.

Mei Lin snorted. “Where’s the fun in that?  No I was instructed to make you suffer. So suffer you shall,” her eyes sparkled with glee as she pulled her backpack off and pulled out a bundle wrapped in black cloth. She unraveled it, revealing a set of daggers.

“So, would you like me to spare your right or left eye for starters?”

He groaned.

“Hmm, no?  Want me to choose for you?”

She watched him writhe like the worm he was and sighed in frustration, picking up a long dagger.

“Oh fine,” she thrusted the knife into the right side of his gut, making him gasp loudly.  “Shhh,” she knelt down to whisper in his ear, pressing the blade further into his body.  “Just let go.  You’re in shock now and soon you won’t even feel it,” she quickly slid the dagger to the left, making him scream until his voice had given out. His body shuddered and quivered as she held the blade steady.

“Still with me?”  She asked before sliding the blade up and out of his body. 

He tried to respond vocally but all she got was gurgling as he coughed up blood.  She watched him for a few more moments as the blood began to spurt and pool around the wounds she had made.  His movements slowed and he suddenly stopped shaking, his head lolling to the side, blood leaking from his mouth and his eyes wide open in shock.

“Hmm…perhaps not,” Mei Lin frowned in disappointment.

==

Mei Lin returned to the car and stripped off her tactical jacket before climbing back into the car.  She was always careful not to dirty herself with her victims’ blood, but she was a little too eager this evening and got careless.  She had gotten a few spots of blood on her jacket. Nothing a little peroxide wouldn’t handle.  She pulled out a small bag containing alcohol wipes and quickly wiped her hands.

> _[text: It’s over. We’ll arrange the rest of the payment as soon as I get back to London. Z]_

Teresa would be a likely suspect, but suspicions of her involvement would fade once Scotland Yard found the evidence Mei Lin had planted on his computer.  The husband was in trouble with some unscrupulous business partners … they would most likely take the blame for the hit and Mei Lin made sure of that with the information she had left behind.

After another hour on the road and thirty minutes of haggling with her client over arrangements for the remaining payment, it was almost five am. 

Mei Lin tiredly entered her flat and was only concerned with a shower, clean pajamas and a warm bed.  She turned on the light and let out a shriek of surprise.

On the kitchen table was a dozen long-stemmed, blood-red roses in a crystal vase.

_What the hell?!_

She stood there and she actually trembled a bit before taking another step towards the table, as if the roses would jump at her and attack. They were exquisite and smelled heavenly. However there was no card.

Was this the same brave soul who had broken into her flat once before? Was it the same creepy anon stalking her on her blog?

Mei Lin tore her gaze from the roses on her table and rushed over to her desk, where her laptop resided. She quickly opened the lid and logged on to check her messages. A few random ones by acquaintances she knew…

…and one anonymous one.

She froze, staring at the screen. She wasn’t sure if she should open it, but her curiosity got the best of her even at the worst times.  She clicked on it and read the message:

> _[anon: I stopped by but you weren’t home.  I hope you enjoyed yourself this evening.  Enjoy the roses. XX]_

He was here?!Her anonymous admirer had been here. Mei Lin’s hands shook, but not in fear.  Mostly in anger. She replied back.

> _[RenRen: Thanks for the roses.  You could have waited.]_
> 
> _[anon: No, I’m enjoying this little game of ours.  Watching you dance.]_

Her heart was racing as she typed her next reply.

> _[RenRen: Who are you?  I want to know.]_

There wasn’t an immediate reply and it only made her more anxious.  She was about to give up when she received a response.

> _[anon: All good things to those who wait. TTFN. XX]_

Mei Lin shuddered for a moment, wrapping her arms around herself.  _Who the hell was this person?_ She suddenly remembered what he said yesterday. And just now. 

He liked to watch her…

Mei Lin looked around the flat, wondering where the camera was.  It was the only explanation but it must have been tiny. Her phone beeped and she jumped slightly. _Now what?_   Mei Lin picked it up and froze for the second time that night.

> _[text: You can try to find the cameras but you won’t find them all. Goodnight! XX]_

He had her phone number?!

Mei Lin grabbed her Glock, shut herself in the bathroom and sat on the floor with her head in her hands.  This situation was really pissing her off.  She was an assassin goddammit!  She wasn’t supposed to be cowering in fear and yet this secret admirer had her jumping at every little sound and was giving her plenty of sleepless nights.

She wouldn’t sleep now.  It was almost morning, but at least she could spend her day off figuring out who this creep was.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is my longest chapter (and my most favorite to write so far). Thank you for the feedback (here and on tumblr).
> 
> I just own Mei Lin and any other original characters. See the disclaimer on chapter 3. I'm feeling too lazy to type it out. :P

Mei Lin only slept for about four hours and it wasn’t a restful sleep.  All she could think about was that creepy admirer of hers.

Although she had to admit she did like the roses. It felt strange receiving such a gift from someone she didn’t know and it worried her that she was beginning to enjoy the attention he was lavishing on her.

She woke up around 9 am and made some coffee.  She needed the caffeine while she worked.

Her mind had been racing all night, wondering if the “puppet master” and her secret admirer were connected somehow.  It seemed odd that the two incidences: the anonymous messages and her dwindling workload had occurred at roughly the same time.

She started running some searches on her laptop, thinking of anything that would give her a clue. Nothing.  She sighed in frustration, then looked around hesitantly.

He was watching her.  She knew it.  Mei Lin scowled, unplugged her laptop and carried it into the bedroom. She had only been in the room for five minutes when she got a notification.

Mei Lin sat silently, staring at the screen. Then her eyes slowly darted around the room and narrowed.

_He put cameras in my bedroom?!  ….where I sleep? And—_

Her cheeks turned pink and she growled.  She picked up her phone on the nightstand and checked the received calls log.  The number that texted her last night was a blocked number.  _Shit_.

She returned her gaze towards her laptop screen and the little notification icon. Her dark eyes narrowed at it as another one appeared.

Two messages? She opened the first one.

> _[anon: Trying to hide from me? Just be grateful I didn’t put cameras in the bathroom. XX]_

The second message read:

> _[anon: Good morning, sleeping beauty. You don’t look very rested, my dear. XX]_

Her hands clenched and unclenched in anger.  She typed her reply, punching the keys furiously.

> _[RenRen: You would know, wouldn’t you?  I wasn’t expecting you to contact me for a few days.]_
> 
> _[anon: Oh I couldn’t stay away.  You’re so irresistible, darling. Btw, I’m sending you a little present, just to say hi.]_

She frowned. _A present?_ She decided to reply back.

> _[RenRen: I love presents. Is it another dozen roses?]_

A minute later:

> _[anon: Oh, if I told you it wouldn’t be a surprise now, would it?]_

She didn’t like surprises, at least not from him.  But she couldn’t help but wonder what he meant.

> _[anon: I can practically hear the gears in that gorgeous mind of yours turning. Just check your email, dear.]_

_My email?_ Mei Lin’s eyes widened in surprise.  Sure enough her phone on the counter beeped, indicating a new email message.  _What the hell?_ She picked up her phone and looked at the notification.

1 new message.

She logged onto her email account and found the message with an attachment. Always wary of strange files, she scanned it first before opening it. It was the additional file that she needed to retrieve for one of her clients. Some classified documents, it was very technical in nature.  It was an assignment she had been working on for weeks, one of the few industrial espionage jobs she received.

Those were always fun.

She was about to book a flight to Berlin just for that purpose but it looked like someone beat her to it. Her heart raced.  How was this possible? This was classified information.  She checked the file again.  There was a definitive marker on the file that would prove its authenticity. The marker, a numerical code, was staring at her in the face.  It was the genuine article alright.

She furiously typed a new reply:

> _[RenRen: Who the hell are you and how did you get this information?]_
> 
> _[anon: Wouldn’t you love to know?]_

Mei Lin scowled at this person’s smug tone.

> _[RenRen: Yes I would. Come off anon and tell me.]_
> 
> _[anon: No, no, no … we’re not playing that sort of game honey. We’re playing by my rules.]_

It wasn’t often that Mei Lin was thrown off guard, but this was slowly beginning to unnerve the usually cool assassin. 

Clearly this person had some sort of network to gain access to this sort of high-level information. _How on earth did he get this file?_   Even Mei Lin had doubts about completing this mission successfully but here comes this anonymous “benefactor” with the file, practically gift wrapped.  She should thank him, but she didn’t even know him or trust him.

> _[RenRen: Your rules?]_
> 
> _[anon: Do as I say and I won’t have to…get rough.  But perhaps you like it rough, don’t you?]_

Great, now he was getting even more flirtatious.  These sorts of messages never bothered Mei Lin, until now.  They almost made her skin crawl.  Almost.  There was a part of her that enjoyed it…the little thrill seeker inside her seemed to relish the fact that someone would take such interest in contacting her this way.

> _[anon: Perhaps I’ll even show my face.  I’m not really obligated to give you anything.  I’m holding all the cards.]_

Ah, the penny drops.

> _[RenRen: What do you mean?]_
> 
> _[anon: I mean …I know what you stole. I could notify the “owner” of said information and give them your home address. Or worse. ]_

She gulped, realizing this anonymous person was much more dangerous than she realized.

> _[RenRen: Worse?]_
> 
> _[anon: I’ll burn you …I could tear your world apart, piece by piece.  Shall I go on?  You really don’t want to test me.  I’ve only given you a glimpse of what I’m capable of.]_

She thought her heart had stopped for a moment, and she held her breath as the puzzle pieces began to click in her mind.

He was the “puppet master.”

She had been in contact with him the entire time while he unraveled her life, stripping it away to almost nothingness.  Her reputation as a reliable “troubleshooter” had been tarnished to the point that she was forced to take any assignments, no matter how menial or mundane.

True, it wasn’t debilitating but it was an annoyance. Years of work, of building trust …ruined.

He was bluffing, he had to be. How could he know what she had done? Where she lived? How could he know all of this?  And how exactly would he ‘burn’ her?

> _[RenRen: I don’t know what you’re talking about.]_
> 
> _[anon: It’s no use playing the innocent card, Mei Lin.  You’re hardly an innocent.  I know what you do for a living.  I’ve been watching you for some time now and you’ve piqued my interest my dear.]_

Mei Lin shuddered.  She was actually afraid. Who was this person who seemed to hold her life in his hands? And he knew her name!  She always used aliases online so how did he know her real name? She looked around the flat again in attempt to find the cameras.

> _[anon: I told you. You won’t find them all. Hmm, disappointing.]_

She was getting the chills. 

> _[RenRen: Why are you doing this?]_
> 
> _[anon: You’re so clever. You figure it out. By the way, orange really isn’t your color, sweetheart.]_

Mei Lin’s face paled as she stared down at her orange t-shirt.  He was always watching… was he watching her sleep at night as well? What did he want from her? Her mind was racing so fast, she couldn’t keep her thoughts focused.  What if he was telling the truth…about everything?

> _[RenRen: If you know what I’m capable of, then you know I could come after you.]_
> 
> _[anon: Oh, please do. I’ll have the kettle boiled when you come over …that is if you can even find me.]_

She could almost hear his laughter. The bastard!

> _[anon: Don’t be that way darling. I did you a favor sending you that file. Were you really that anxious to fly to Berlin?]_

This was making Mei Lin more and more nervous. She was ALWAYS careful about her travel plans, about ALL of her plans. No one… NO ONE knew about her trip to Berlin so how did he know?

She wasn’t panicking. No, Zhou Mei Lin did NOT panic.  She WAS concerned… very concerned.  She decided compliance was the only way she would figure out what this person was up to.

> _[RenRen: Fine.  What do you want?]_
> 
> _[anon: Good.  Very good. It’s always better to cooperate, isn’t it?]_
> 
> _[RenRen: What. Do. You. Want?]_
> 
> _[anon: All in good time, sweetheart.  We’ll keep in touch. X]_
> 
> _[RenRen: No, talk to me! Please!]_

There were no further messages. Mei Lin slammed her fists against the desk in frustration and let out a muffled scream. Suddenly she got another notification:

> _[anon: Temper, temper… would hate to see you hurt those talented hands of yours. – M XX]_

She scowled at the screen.

Why was he doing this?  Was he just toying with her, or did he want something?

She needed a name.  At least he left her a clue this time.  He signed his message with an “M.” Not much to go by.  She was going to have to take her search outside today. Ask questions, dig around.

She shut her laptop down and pulled out an outfit from her closet, then glanced around the room hesitantly.

Mei Lin decided she’d start dressing in the bathroom from now on.

==

Several hours later, she was no closer to solving the mystery behind “M’s” identity.  Apparently she was asking the wrong questions. Everyone that knew her in the criminal underground was beginning to treat her like a leper. No one would speak with her, and anyone that did talk only did it with threatening undertones.

_What the hell was going on?_

She figured she’d spend the rest of the afternoon preparing for her Berlin assignment. She had been planning it for weeks.  She wanted to call Ethan and let him know she would be out of town, but decided to wait.  She preferred to see him in person.

Ethan was probably the only person in her life that she would consider a friend.  She didn’t make friends, but somehow he wormed his way into her trust.  There was no romance, at least not on her part.  She could tell he had feelings for her but she had no interest in a relationship.

_I have a creepy secret admirer anyway.  I’m spoken for_ , she joked to herself.

As she drove around the city, her active imagination began to piece together a wild, outlandish theory.

What if it was Moriarty?

She had only heard whispers about this person, supposedly the most dangerous man in London.  But either no one knew who he was or no one had never seen him in the flesh.

She giggled. Maybe he was just some ghost story people invented. Who knew? Although if he did exist, the mere notion of someone as influential and powerful like him taking notice of her gave her the chills ….and she liked it.

_What is wrong with me?_

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she missed the turn down her street. Mei Lin rolled her eyes.  _You’re acting like some lovesick teenager_ , she chided herself.  _He’s not one of your cute boytoys, Mei Lin. For all you know he’s some psychopath out for your blood._

 

She drove around the block, since many of the streets around her flat were one way and eventually turned onto her street.  She pulled into a spot on the opposite side of the street and stared at her front window, chewing her lower lip in contemplation.

Changing the locks didn’t matter anymore.  He could still get inside.  She frowned in irritation as she headed inside. She made her way upstairs and cautiously opened her door, peeking in.

_No surprises so far_ , she let out a breath that she didn’t realize she was holding in. Her usually cool nerves were getting frayed and rattled.

She needed a drink.

Mei Lin grabbed a bottle from her small wine rack, a corkscrew and a wine goblet from the cabinet.  She thought about checking her messages but she was wary of even looking at her blog now.

She stared at her phone as she poured a glass of wine and took a large gulp.  A few more gulps and she had downed the entire glass. She poured another and sipped at it, frowning at her reflection in the mirrored tiles on the wall.

_I should eat something first_ , she frowned, looking at the deep color of the wine in her glass.  _Eh, fuck it,_ she took another swig and swallowed, not really enjoying the taste of it. _I think I got a bad bottle,_ she winced. _Figures_.

Mei Lin shook her head slightly, feeling a bit buzzed.  Good.  Anything to take my mind off of ‘him.’  She pulled a book off the shelf and decided to read something that had nothing to do with murder plots, death and forensics. It was a book Ethan had bought her on her birthday. She sat down in her recliner and tried to read several pages but the words began to blur.

Mei Lin wasn’t a lightweight but then again she did drink on an empty stomach. She set the goblet down, headed to the kitchen, grabbed another glass from the cabinet and filled it with water.  She rinsed her mouth out, set the glass in the sink and began rummaging through her pantry for a bag of crisps …anything to snack on.  Anything to rid her mouth of the metallic taste—

Her eyes widened as her vision worsened.  The room began to spin.

“No,” she mumbled, straining her eyes as she glared at the open bottle of wine.

She suddenly felt dizzy and her limbs grew heavy. She stumbled and grabbed onto the door of the pantry door as it swung open, and she almost collapsed onto the floor.  She limped to the counter where her iPhone lay, and made an attempt to grab it, but knocked it to the floor instead.  Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she finally blacked out and collapsed to the floor.

==

Mei Lin groggily opened her eyes. Her vision was still blurry and the room was dark.

Dark?

Her eyes darted around.  At least the ceiling looked familiar.  She was in her bedroom.  _How--?_

She rolled over and felt something velvety soft against her cheek.  Mei Lin gave a start and fumbled for the light switch on her bedside lamp.

When the light came on she gasped.

There was a single blood-red rose on her pillow, identical to the dozen she had received from her secret admirer.

Her breath quickened and she felt her chest tighten as her heartbeat rose higher and higher. She was officially terrified now.

Mei Lin pulled a face and rubbed it with one hand.  She shivered slightly from the chill of the room and rubbed her bare arms.  She was only clad in a tank top and jeans, so she pulled on a cardigan she had left on the bed.

At least she thought she left it on the bed. She couldn't remember.

She yawned as she grabbed her phone and looked at the time. It was after midnight.  She had slept through the late afternoon into the evening. She had been drugged, obviously and she knew who was behind it. That wasn’t what terrified her.

What frightened her the most was that he had been in the flat again. How else did she end up in her room?  The last thing she remembered was collapsing in the kitchen.

She had other vague, fuzzy memories as well ….the smell of cologne and something brushing against her face.  Was it a hand?  The rose on her pillow?  Who knew?  Her mind was still in a fog.

He was here. He was in the flat …while she was unconscious.

Her skin crawled and she shuddered.  Suddenly her phone buzzed and she let out a little squeak of surprise. She glanced at the touchscreen.

> _[text: Hiiii. Did you sleep well? I’ve been worried about you, dear. – M]_

She squinted at the screen as she fumbled to type out a response.

> _[text: Why did you drug me? – Z]_
> 
> _[text: You haven’t been sleeping and I was concerned.  It wasn’t difficult. I’m surprised you didn’t drink them sooner.  But I did have to tuck you into bed. – M_

Mei Lin’s eyes widened.  Her fears were confirmed.

> _[text: You have such lovely skin, Mei Lin. So soft ….I want to feel more of it. – M]_

She wanted to throw her phone against the wall and scream.

> _[text: Leave me alone! – Z]_
> 
> _[text: LOL, never. – M]_

For the first time since she was a child, Mei Lin was almost on the verge of tears.  But these were angry tears. _Who the hell was this creep?_ Trying to frighten—no, not ‘trying.’ He had definitely succeeded in scaring the shit out of her.

> [text: Why are you doing all of this to me? What do you want?! – Z]
> 
> _[text: Don’t be dull, sweetheart.  Isn’t it obvious? – M]_
> 
> _[text: No, it isn’t! – Z]_
> 
> _[text: Oh I think it is, you just don’t want to admit it.  And you love the attention I’m giving you, don’t you? – M]_
> 
> _[text: No, I don’t! – Z]_
> 
> _[text: Liar.  You love it.  Your heart’s racing, isn’t it? Every time that little notification pops up, your heart skips a beat, hoping it’s me… isn’t it? – M]_
> 
> _[text: Stop this, NOW. – Z]_
> 
> _[text: The game isn’t over, Mei Lin. It’s just beginning. But if you just give in, then I’ll stop. – M]_

Mei Lin was trebling with fury.

> _[text: Give in?  To you? HA. – Z]_
> 
> _[text: Good. I love it when you play hard to get. – M]_
> 
> _[text: I’m not playing with you anymore! – Z]_
> 
> _[text: Too bad, sweetheart. This game is just too fun to end it so soon. – M]_
> 
> _[text: This isn’t a game! THIS IS MY LIFE! – Z]_
> 
> _[text: Face it, Mei Lin.  Your life as you knew it is over. – M]_

Mei Lin face was ghostly pale as she considered his words. _NO._

> _[text: So now what? – Z]_
> 
> _[text: Oh, don’t be scared.  I wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble just to kill you. No I have much bigger plans for you, my dear. Well, I must be off.  I’m a very busy man. Pleasant dreams. XX – M]_

She stared at the last message and shook her head, stifling a scream of frustration.  _Pleasant dreams. HA_.  How on earth was she supposed to sleep knowing some crazy psycho was watching her, manipulating her life?

He was right. She knew but she didn’t want to admit it. All the flirtatious messages from the past ten months and the fact that he was in her bedroom was evidence enough.

He was attracted to her.

How long was he in the flat? For all she knew, he could have been sitting beside her, in her bed …watching her the entire time.  And he touched her. Or did he?  Was he just playing mind games with her, as usual?  She could have sworn she felt something brush her face.  She was so incoherent at the time she wasn’t sure if what happened was real or a dream.  She shivered at the thought.

As much as she hated him, she couldn’t help but feel flattered …and slightly turned on.

Considering her profession, this situation was rather amusing. Usually it was the other way around. SHE was the one stalking, always watching.  It was nerve wracking to find yourself on the other end of the scope.

She’d make certain to sleep with her Glock under her pillow tonight.

And she’d dump the other wine bottles down the sink tomorrow morning.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why this chapter took longer to write but I'm sort of happy with it (I'm my own worst critic so I'm probably not the best person to ask lol).
> 
> As always, please leave me feedback. It helps me to know if you liked it, didn't like it, etc. And don't own anything but my own original characters.

Five days later and Mei Lin was no closer to finding out who “M” was.

She hadn’t received any further messages from the mysterious “M” but she kept checking her blog and phone anyway. She was beginning to feel like someone after a first date, waiting for the guy to call her back.   _This is so stupid_ , she thought to herself as she scrolled through her emails. One in particular caught her eye. She knocked over her cup of tea onto the floor as she read the message.

Two of her online “friends” died in car accidents. Another had died tragically in a house fire. She stared at the screen in shock. True she wasn’t exactly close to them but they were the closest thing to friends that she had, including Ethan. 

This wasn’t a coincidence. The three deaths occurred days apart but there was one common denominator: she knew them.

Mei Lin covered her face, resting her elbows on the desk. This was precisely why she didn’t make friends. She naively thought the cloak of anonymity on the internet would allow her this little indulgence but it appeared she was wrong.

He could get to her or anyone she knew.

Ethan was in danger too and so was her aunt and uncle in China.

She thought about texting Ethan but she couldn’t risk M knowing. He had hacked into her phone, after all. She really didn’t want to buy another phone but what choice did she have?  Mei Lin picked up her shattered tea mug and cleaned up.  She wrote down Ethan’s address before grabbing her purse and gun holster and heading out.

Mei Lin shut the door to her flat, but not before placing a little slip of paper between the door and the frame and closing it to keep the slip in place.  It was a little trick she had learned long ago. Instant intruder alert.

She had a hunch. Would M stop by again?  She’d soon find out.

==

Ethan didn’t live far from her flat and she knocked on his door several times, but there was no answer. Frowning, she scribbled a note asking him to meet her at the coffeehouse where they first met in three days. She hoped she would be back by then.

Mei Lin had a little trip planned.  She quickly headed to the first electronics store she came across, bought a cheap cell phone and left Ethan a voice mail, asking him to call her back on the new phone. Then she headed home.

She had to drive to Edinburgh, kill her client’s rival then head home. Easy peasy. Nothing was ever easy. And now with M breathing down her neck, it created a whole new dynamic in her life.

When she got back to her flat, after picking up a few things for the trip, she noticed the slip of paper was still in place.  There was a tiny part of her that was almost ….disappointed.

_What the hell, Mei Lin? It’s as if you’re pining over a psychopath._

But she was, heaven help her.  She was beginning to wonder what he looked like, what his voice sounded like. She already knew what he smelled like.  She was very tempted to decipher the scent and buy a bottle of it. It was so intoxicating—

Mei Lin suddenly shook her head in disbelief.  _This is sick_ , she mentally screamed. _Am I developing some twisted version of Stockholm syndrome?_

She dragged a medium-sized duffle bag out of the closet and packed some clothes, enough for two or three days, her tactical gear and her weapons. Opting to leave her katana behind, she decided to pack her short sword – a wakizashi – instead. The blade was smaller than the katana, about 20 inches in length compared to the 28 inch katana, and was easier to carry.  She wasn’t planning on taking on several opponents anyway but if the urge for slicing and dicing came over her, she’d have the perfect tool by her side.

Taking public transport would pose too many questions, especially since she had a sniper rifle stowed away in her bag.  She preferred to have her own transport and didn’t like depending on trains. It was only a seven hour drive north to Scotland. It would give her the opportunity to do some thinking as well.

She hefted her duffle and laptop bag, then double checked everything before leaving – windows locked, stove and lights off, computer turned off.

She left the slip of paper in the door again, just in case.

==

It was pretty late when she finally arrived in Edinburgh so she checked into a small, cheap hotel and prepared for the day ahead. While she hung her clothes in the closet, a little notification noise on her laptop indicated a new message. Mei Lin’s eyes glanced warily at her computer and she debated whether to check her messages or leave them until morning.

Curiosity got the better of her and she opened her email to discover it was just some promotional emails. She let out a sigh of relief and cursed silently. She shouldn’t let him get to her.  Besides, he had no cameras here. He couldn’t watch her. For once she felt free, but she knew it wouldn’t last.  She needed to do this. Something to get her mind off of him.

She left her sniper rifle unassembled in the bag for now. She’d have to carry it with her, anyway.

She took some pain medicine before she settled into bed. She was still suffering from that spill a few weeks ago and she suspected she sprained her left shoulder. All she could hope for was to get a few hours of sleep before her assignment tomorrow.

==

Mei Lin woke up feeling a bit groggy and craned her neck to glance at the time.  It was still early but she had overslept for at least an hour. She sat up too quickly and was overcome with dizziness.  She covered her eyes and groaned.

 _Oh no not again…_ Where was it this time? Did he spike her medicine cabinet too?

She stared at her pain medicine on her nightstand and tossed it in the garbage. Lucky she only took half a dose. She would have to go through her entire pantry and toss everything when she returned home. She was getting paranoid now. Maybe it’s really nothing. Maybe it’s the stress getting to her finally. She was cracking.  No, that would not do at all.

She’d make sure to grab some coffee before heading out.

She quickly dressed in a pair of black leggings, ankle boots, a slim-fitting t-shirt and her leather jacket. She grabbed her gear and stowed her laptop away inside the closet, then left for the location she had scoped out a few days ago.

She usually did her research days in advance – sniping locations, escape routes, street maps, anything that would prove useful.  This job seemed pretty simple. Go in, take out the target, get out.

Mei Lin had a sinking feeling it wouldn’t be so simple as her previous kills.

She left her car a few blocks away and walked back to the building she spotted on her map. It was an old, abandoned office building, at least ten stories tall.  She’d have the perfect vantage point from the top, and there were other buildings nearby to make it nearly impossible for the target’s bodyguards to make out which direction the shot would come from.

Of course if they had a forensics team on hand they’d easily figure it out.

Her client was a minor player in the criminal underworld and he wanted one of his rivals dead.  She was a bit confused as to why he’d choose her for the job, since word was getting around that she wasn’t reliable.  She didn’t question it. She needed the money.

Since the place was abandoned, she felt safe in the knowledge that she could leave her rifle hidden and come back for it.  Her target wouldn’t be in place for another three hours so she stuffed her bag under a slab of drywall lying in the corner and headed back downstairs.  She’d do a little spying in the meantime and have breakfast as well.  She hadn’t eaten since last night and she was starving.  There was a little café about two blocks away and it gave her a nice view of her perch, so to speak.

Mei Lin walked quickly, not wanting to draw attention to herself, hence the rather ordinary “street” look she was sporting.

Nevertheless, she knew she was being followed. Every now and then she’d glance out the corner of her eye and see someone behind her. It was barely a glance. Not long enough for her to notice facial features, but she knew it was a man.

For a moment she thought she was just being paranoid again but paranoia had often saved her life more than once. It paid to be cautious.

She reached the café and ordered a coffee, along with a veggie omelette.  The pastries looked so good, but she didn’t want to gorge on sugar and crash later.  Even so, she remembered to buy a few to take home. They just looked too good to resist.

She ate slowly, keeping watch on her “perch” and the surrounding area.  No sign of her stalker or whoever he was.  After forty minutes she decided she had wasted enough time and headed back to her spot.   

She saw her shadow again. Just a brief glance.  He was tall, that was certain.

Was he blonde? Or was his hair brown?  Her mind was a bit foggy, most likely from whatever M slipped into her medicine earlier. Hopefully the breakfast she ate would help lessen the grogginess.

He wasn’t doing anything. Just …observing.  Was he working for the target? She’d have to take him out if he interfered.

Mei Lin headed up to the top floor, found her bag exactly where she had left it and began to assemble her rifle.  She checked the weather report the night before. Very light winds, almost calm. Clear skies. Perfect.

Once she had her rifle set up there was nothing else to do but wait.  She brought a pack of cards and a book to pass the time but she had a feeling she’d spend most of it keeping an eye out for her shadow.

But in the span of two hours she never saw him again. Strange.

She shrugged it off and watched the street below. Her target would be exiting the building across the street and she had an excellent view of him from her scope.

She was about to line up her laser sight on his forehead when she heard a shout, then chaos. Mei Lin cursed under her breath as she watched the target being hastily escorted away from the area and into a big, black car.

She slammed her hand against the window frame and let out a frustrated scream as the car sped away. She screwed her eyes shut, wondering what had happened.

Someone had tipped them off obviously… and she had a theory as to who it was. She quickly disassembled her rifle, but not completely. She just needed to get it into the bag and hurry back to the car.

She looked down for a moment and suddenly saw a red dot in the center of her chest. Her eyes widened in shock and she instinctively rolled out of the way as a shot rang out. She ducked behind a counter as several shots were fired.

This was getting worse by the second. Not only did she fail her mission but now someone was out to kill her.

She had to find a rear exit, one the sniper wasn’t covering. Luckily her research had paid off. She was able to get to the second floor unscathed but she suddenly heard footsteps rushing towards her in the stairwell.  She doubled back, slid her bag in the corner, unsheathed her wakizashi and hid in the shadows.

As soon as the first thug came into view, she swung her sword, decapitating him. The other two were so shocked they didn’t see her for the next two blows. A stab to the gut and another swing took an arm off.  A fourth came up the stairs but hesitated when he saw his comrades bloodied and dismembered on the floor.  He tried running, but Mei Lin sighed as she pulled her Glock on him and shot him in the back of the head. He tumbled down the stairs.

Mei Lin made a face, not at the sight before her, but at the mere fact that they sent four men after one lone assassin and they didn’t have the sense to just shoot her on sight. Perhaps that’s why she preferred using swords. People usually were taken aback when they see a crazy chick waving a big sword around. She giggled, remembering the look shock and terror on the second man’s face as she decapitated his colleague.  She wiped the blood spatter from her face and sword.

She didn’t hear anymore footsteps, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be reinforcements.  She grabbed her bag and hurried out the back entrance.

There was still the matter of that sniper, but she didn’t want to stay in Edinburgh to find him. She opted to flee for her life, hoping he wouldn’t follow.

Unfortunately she’d have to inform her client and he would not be happy. Mei Lin groaned.  She could have cared less about that now.  All she wanted to do was head back to her hotel, get her belongings and make the seven hour drive back to London.

She’d shower at home.  There was nothing worse than being ambushed while you were in a shower (and that had happened to her once).

==

Mei Lin trudged up the stairs towards her flat but she hesitated, wondering if they had sent someone to kill her.  True they were seven hours away, but they also had access to assassins who were only a phone call away and living in London.

And they were all probably itching to replace her as London’s top assassin.

She put her bags down, pulled out her Glock, attached a silencer and slowly crept up to her door. She stood to one side, unsure whether or not someone was inside. She knew someone was in her flat.  The little slip of paper was lying on the floor.  She carefully unlocked the door, standing off to the side as she gently pushed the door ajar.

There was silence. That wasn’t necessarily a good thing. She peeked around the door jamb, pushing the door open further with her foot.

No one. _Hmm…_ She stood in the doorway, still brandishing the gun, and cautiously checked the flat. All clear.

There was something…A hint of cologne.  HIS cologne.  He was here again!

He always managed to visit her when she was away. _Maybe I should hide in the closet and wait for him next time …with my Glock_ , she thought evilly.

She checked the bathroom and pulled the shower curtain away. Clear.

One last room. Her bedroom. She had butterflies. She never felt such hesitation and trepidation before. This “M” was turning into a thorn in her side and yet she could not help but savor the attention he was giving her. He was a puzzle that she was desperate to solve.

She entered her darkened room and switched on the light.  What made her gasp wasn’t the sight of an intruder.

It was a bouquet of roses.  They were dead …almost burnt around the edges, wrapped in a pink silk bow.

Mei Lin stood there, frozen and not entirely sure of what she was feeling at the moment.  The fact that he had broken into her flat actually didn’t bother her too much. It was the fact that the flowers were dead.  Was it some sort of message? A sign?

This could happen to you. Mei Lin fought the urge to shudder.

He did say he would burn her …the flowers were blackened around the edges, as if someone had tossed them into a fire and pulled them out just in time. Well …sort of. They were still dead.

_How are you going to burn me?_

He was responsible for her friends’ deaths, she was certain of it now. “M” was slowly picking her life apart, piece by piece. First her job, then her friends …who next? Her family? All for what?  Was there some grand agenda behind all of this or was he just a twisted fuck that got off on ruining her life?

 _Probably both_ , she grit her teeth in anger, clenching her pistol tightly.

She turned around to head back to the hallway for her bags when she was grabbed from behind by an assailant, dressed entirely in black.  He knocked her gun to the ground and covered her mouth and had an arm around her waist, in an attempt to pick her up.

Mei Lin let out a muffled scream and struggled, but managed to step on his foot with her heeled shoes.  He let out a curse as he let go, then she elbowed him, bringing him onto his knees.  She swung around and delivered a roundhouse kick to his head, knocking him to the floor.

He stayed down.  Mei Lin wanted to make sure he stayed down. 

She dragged him to her bedroom, handcuffed his hands to the foot of her bed, then grabbed her gun and shot him in the thigh, making him scream in pain.

“Be lucky I didn’t shoot you in the balls,” she growled. “Besides I can’t kill you yet. I need information.”

“Fuck you, bitch!”

She grimaced in disappointment. “No. Not what I wanted to hear.” She shot him in the other leg. “Want to try again?”

He howled in agony.  “Okay, okay!”

“Who sent you?”

“I….” He hesitated, groaning in pain.

“I can add another wound, if it will help jog your memory,” she grinned menacingly. “Please, test my patience.  I have all night.”

“Since you’re going to kill me anyway, why should I tell you?”

“Oh I wouldn’t kill you outright. No, I’d take my time. You see, I was robbed of a kill earlier today but you’ll do quite nicely,” Mei Lin’s eyes lit up as she approached the man.  “I have a nice dagger collection that I’ve been dying to try out on someone.  They say I’m an artist with the blade.”

“Your neighbors will hear my screams,” he warned.

“Not if I rip out your larynx first,” Mei Lin said brightly.  “But I don’t want that. I need you alive and with a voice. Give me a name.  It will be easier this way, trust me.”

The man looked pained but seemed to be weighing his options. Mei Lin gave him an almost reptilian stare, unblinking.

“If I tell you he’ll kill me anyway.”

“If you don’t tell me I’ll do everything I said I would and more. Now TELL ME!” She stomped on his blood leg, making the man shriek.

“His name is Moriarty!

Mei Lin wore a triumphant grin on her face, her eyes looked glazed and manic.  Finally! “Is he the one that’s been sending me those messages?”

“I don’t know anything about that! I’ve told you all I know…”

She looked down at the man and nodded. It was enough for now. “Good.  See? That wasn’t so hard now was it?”  She left him for a moment and rummaged through her closet.  She came back out with a box and began removing a set of long daggers from it.

The man’s eyes suddenly widened in terror. “Wait! You said you’d let me live!”

Mei Lin turned her head and gave him a sweet smile before thrusting the knife into his throat and carving out his larynx.

“I lied.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this chapter went through so many revisions it's not even funny.
> 
> There's a bit of humor in this chapter and since I felt a bit sorry for Mei Lin I thought I'd lighten up on her. 
> 
> All my disclaimers still apply (see previous chapters)

Mei Lin sat on her balcony overlooking the streets below.  It wasn’t the best view in London, but it had a certain kind of charm of its own.

It had been three days since she had killed one of Moriarty’s henchmen and disposed of his body.  Oh, Scotland Yard would find him, or what was left of him, drifting along the Thames. They’d never find the man’s feet, hands or head.  The chances of DNA identification were slim but she didn’t care.  It was her last kill. 

Thanks to Moriarty, her career as an assassin-for-hire was pretty much finished. All her contacts had dried up and she hadn’t received any calls. Any potential clients that she was hoping would reach her had heard about the botched assassination in Edinburgh and refused to deal with her.

She was depending on the money in her savings, which was substantial but for how long, especially since Moriarty was hot on her heels. Luckily she had stashed £5,000 in a secret safe inside her closet.  But she really didn’t want to touch it unless it was absolutely necessary.

It did her no good to sit inside and mope. Moriarty was watching no doubt, and she refused to accept defeat.

She hadn’t shopped for groceries in a few days and she was running out of food. She was getting sick of take out and she had thrown out everything in the pantry. She’d just buy what she needed for the day so as not to tempt Moriarty into drugging her food.

It was a beautiful day so she left the flat and headed for the bank on foot to withdraw some funds.  When she was told her savings account was empty, she almost flew into a rage until she realized what had really happened.

Moriarty.

Oh…he was SO good, cutting her off from her job, her funds.  He was slowly dissecting her life apart, piece by piece.  All she had was the money in the safe. If she was lucky it would last her the week, but what then? Instead of creating a ruckus in the bank, she quietly left and plotted all sorts of gruesome endings for the nefarious Mr. Moriarty.

She’d have to purchase her groceries with cash. Mei Lin headed to the market and bought some ingredients for curry, then made the short walk back to her flat. She was slightly paranoid. No matter where she went, she eyed everyone with the same amount of suspicion. Any one of these people could be working for Moriarty …or be Moriarty himself. Or herself. She wasn’t entirely sure if Moriarty was a man or woman.

She was caught up in her thoughts when she accidentally bumped into someone, dropping one of her bags to the pavement.

“Oh! Sorry, I should have been paying attention—“ She bent down and they both banged heads together. She clutched at her head. “OW!”

“Sorry about that!  I was sort of daydreaming too,” the man laughed, bending down to pick up her bag. “But no harm done!  Nothing’s broken I hope? Except for my head?”

She giggled, the first time she giggled in a long while. The tension and stress of the past several weeks had been getting to her, and she really needed a laugh right now. “No, I didn’t buy anything fragile,” she held it up and examined his head. She took in his appearance and stifled a laugh. He sported a red mark on his forehead where they had collided heads. He was taller than her by a few inches, she estimated.  Even if she wore heels he’d still be taller.  Oh the curse of being petite. “Are you okay?”

He nodded, rubbing his forehead.  He took off his sunglasses and squinted. “You look familiar.”

Mei Lin blinked.  “I do?”

He smiled brightly, running a hand through his hair.  “Yeah.  You live around here?  I mean, I see you in the café down the street quite often.”

“Oh yes. I eat breakfast there when I’m too lazy to cook,” she joked.  She stared at him for a moment. “Come to think of it, I have seen you before. Just a few times. Just moved here?”

“It’s only been a few weeks but yeah.  I like it.  Oh, sorry where are my manners?  Rick,” he held out his hand.

She shook his hand, but hesitated for a second and gave him her alias. “Regina.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Why don’t I buy you a cup of coffee?” Mei Lin offered. “As a friendly gesture and an apology for cracking your head open.”

He laughed. “Well….”

“Oh, come on. You’re catching me on an off day. I’m usually much pricklier than this.”

“Prickly huh?  Alright, you’ve twisted my arm.”

“Are you in a hurry or something? I don’t want to keep you.”

“Oh, no,” he shook his head, checking his phone.  “I do have an appointment in a bit and need to get home to change but one cup won’t take long.

The café was half a block down the street and they chatted about mundane things like the weather. When they arrived, Mei Lin ordered two coffees and they sat on the patio outside the café. Now that they were sitting there, Mei Lin suddenly felt awkward. She wasn’t used to this, being what ordinary people called “normal.” She didn’t want to look Rick in the eye.

“So what do you do for a living?” Rick asked before sipping his coffee.

Mei Lin hesitated again for a brief moment. “I’m an artist.” …with a blade, she finished in her mind. “What do you do?”

Rick rolled his eyes. “Eh, typical position in an office setting. It's cubicle hell!  Oh I’m sure my job is pretty boring compared to yours. At least you get to enjoy what you do.”

Mei Lin smiled, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit sad. She did miss it. It had only been a few days. What was she going to do for the rest of her life?  That is, if Moriarty allowed her to live out her life. It seemed he would. Killing her would have been merciful. She understood that now.

_Oh you are twisted_ , she thought, unconsciously twisting the plastic cover of her coffee cup. Rick’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Regina?” He was looking at her worriedly. “You okay?”

Mei Lin blinked. “Hmm? Oh, yes! Fine, fine.”

“I’m not a mind reader but I can tell you have something big weighing on your mind,” he teased. “Penny for your thoughts?”

She was afraid of this. He was being so nice… No, she couldn’t have that. “Look, Rick …you seem like a nice guy but …I don’t want you to interpret this as something, if you know what I mean.

Rick shook his head, realization dawning on his face. “Oh!  Oh no…I’m not!”

Mei Lin made a face. “Sorry. I guess I’m reading too much into everything nowadays. It’s just …bad things happen when I make friends.”

He was quiet for a second.  “They leave, huh?”

“You could say that,” she murmured sadly.

Rick looked pensive. “Well, I’m not one to make friends easily either.  I’m a bit of a loner.” His expression brightened a little. “But hey, since we’re practically neighbors …if you need anything, just ask.”

She smiled hesitantly. “That’s nice of you.”

“You aren’t very trusting, are you?”

“How could you tell?” She joked. “No, I’m sorry. I’m being rude,” she frowned apologetically.

“You aren’t. You’re just being cautious. I can understand that. But if you want to talk—“

A voice interrupted him in mid-sentence:

“Hey! Regina!”

Mei Lin turned in surprise at the sight of her friend Ethan. “Oh! Ethan hi!  I thought you were meeting me at my flat?” She squirmed as he kissed her on the cheek. She really wished he would stop doing that in public. _We aren’t even dating, what the hell?_

“I was, until I saw you through the window chatting with …emm…” He finally noticed Rick sitting there.

“Oh, sorry! This is Rick. We just met. He lives down the block.”

Rick gave a friendly nod. “Hello.”

Ethan returned the gesture, rather bluntly. “Hey.  Sorry to interrupt you…two—“ He gestured between the two of them.

Rick rose from his seat. “No, it’s perfectly fine. I was about to leave anyway.”

Mei Lin suddenly rose as well. “Are you sure?”

Rick grinned, taking his cup with him. “Sure. I got a free coffee out of this. I’m heading into work actually. Maybe I’ll see you sometime, Regina.”

She nodded. “Sure. You got any openings for graphic artist at your workplace?”

Ethan laughed, but Rick gave her a grin and a shrug. “Not sure. I can always keep an eye out for an opening though. What’s your number?” He started scribbling his number on a napkin.

Mei Lin’s eyes grew wide and she briefly glanced at Ethan. “I couldn’t—“

“It’s not like that,” Rick laughed, handing her the napkin.  “It’s business.”

“Well….alright.” She scribbled the number of her spare phone on the same napkin, and ripped it off. She noticed the expression on Ethan’s face. “Just remember, I’m not in the habit of giving my number to anyone.”

“Oh, I know,” Rick reassured her, then gave Ethan one last glance.  “Nice meeting you.”

“Same here.”

Mei Lin watched Rick leave for a moment, then turned to Ethan. “So… I wanted to tell you—“

“Well, he seems nice,” Ethan began to say in an odd tone.

Mei Lin held up a hand and sighed in exasperation. Here we go again. “Don’t start.”

“…and very good looking….I can tell you noticed that.”

“Oh shut up.”

“So what does he have that I don’t have?”

“It’s not like that and you know it.  We…” Mei Lin frowned, “we physically bumped into each other. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going and we collided. I was just buying him a coffee as an apology.”

Ethan stared knowingly. “You got his number out of it.”

She stared in disbelief and started laughing. “I can’t believe you’re jealous!  You and I ….we aren’t even a couple!”

“Why not?”

“Because…” her mirth was quickly doused with a bucket of cold, hard reality. “Actually that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Good, and I was about to stop by your flat but since I caught you ogling another man—“

“I was not!”

“—I thought I’d interrupt and tell you about our dinner date.”

Mei Lin blinked. “Date?”

Ethan grinned awkwardly. “Yeah. 7:30 tomorrow night at Zucca. I thought I’d splurge on you. Besides, you did want to talk.  Call it an apology dinner date for ditching you the way I did.”

When he presented it like that she couldn’t help but forgive him for being so presumptuous. “It’s okay.“  Zucca was a very nice restaurant but hardly a splurge for Ethan. He could afford it.  “Oh… when you splurge, you go big.  Fine. This is NOT a date.”

"Fine. I’ll pick you up at 7 for our non-date tomorrow.” He gave her a little peck on the cheek and left.

Mei Lin shook her head.  He would just not quit!

She had to admit. He was persistent. He would have made a pretty good assassin.

==

When Mei Lin arrived at her flat several minutes later, she discovered someone was waiting for her on the steps.

Her heart stopped. It was the man who had been following her in Edinburgh. Now that he was standing in front of her she could finally make out his features.

Tall, rugged, reddish-brown hair.  Gorgeous blue eyes— _hey, down girl_ , she chided herself. She was immediately on guard, but when she realized he wasn’t in a defensive posture or reaching for a weapon, she relaxed slightly. “May I help you?”

“Regina Chang?”

She eyed him suspiciously and kept her distance. “Who wants to know?”

He calmly pulled out his identification and held it up for her to inspect. “Sean Kavanaugh.”

Mei Lin visibly gulped. It looked genuine enough for her. “MI5?” Security Service. Domestic counter-intelligence. She was royally screwed now.

“I need to speak with you. It’s urgent.” He noticed her hesitation and the corner of his mouth curled up. “Don’t worry, I’m not after you. I’m after someone much bigger, and I need your help.”

She stared him down, trying to intimidate him. It wasn’t working. He was good.

She rolled her eyes and sighed, digging out her keys and opening the door. “You do realize I’m going to do a background check on you, right?” She allowed him to pass by her, then she closed and locked the door.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less, Miss Chang. Or should I say Zhou Mei Lin.”

She sighed at the mention of her true identity. _Shit_. “I suppose you know everything about me, then.”

“Yes. I have a file on you back at headquarters.”

“Perfect,” she groaned. _Might as well be hospitable_. “Would you care for some tea, Agent Kavanaugh? Please, sit anywhere you’d like.”

“Thank you,” he settled onto her couch. He looked around as Mei Lin was getting the tea tray ready.  “Nice place.”

She let out a laugh as she set the kettle on the stove. “Well… it’s okay. The rent is reasonable.”  She grabbed her laptop from the kitchen table and made a search inquiry for Agent Kavanaugh in the British government database. At least her one source hadn’t dried up.  “So… do you get to play with nifty gadgets in your line of work?” She couldn’t help but smirk a little at him. 

It was his turn to roll his eyes, but a smile slid onto his face. “It’s not quite James Bond, but you should see the firepower we get to play with sometimes.”

“Well you do look the part,” Mei Lin couldn’t help but flirt a little at him and he responded with a smirk. She headed back into the kitchen for the whistling kettle and prepared the tea. “So how are you going to use this information once I’ve helped you?”

“I can reassure you that the information is classified. I only have access to it, along with my supervisor. And it depends entirely on your cooperation. I can offer you protection if you wish.”

She bit her lip, bringing the tray into the living room and setting it on the coffee table. “I never thought in a million years I’d be surrendering to MI5, but so be it.  I suppose if anyone found out about me, I would rather be discovered by law enforcement instead of my former clients.”

“Hmm,” he watched her for a moment. “Your most recent client… a Mr. Harbison, I believe. He can’t be too pleased with your last assignment.”

Mei Lin grimaced a bit, biting the inside of her cheek. “No, he isn’t. In fact, I was thinking of leaving town for a few days…maybe longer.”

“Well, he can’t be as intimidating as the man I’m after.  I know you’ve been in touch with him.”

Mei Lin’s eyes lit up. “Moriarty.”

“Yes.”

She poured the cups. “Milk or sugar?”

“Milk, thanks.”

She handed him his cup and saucer and frowned. “What do you know about him?”

He sipped his tea. “Very little. He’s rumored to be the most dangerous man in London. We know more about his criminal organization but I need information on the man himself. James Moriarty is more like a shadow than a man.”

She let that sink in… he had a name. Moriarty wasn't some covert name for a criminal organization, or any of the other harebrained theories she had postulated in her mind over the past several weeks.

His name was James. That didn’t make the man any less frightening. “Has anyone ever seen him?”

“Not likely. He doesn’t like to get his hands dirty so he sends his employees to do most of the jobs. It’s a brilliant concept. He runs everything behind the scenes, like a puppet master.”

Mei Lin froze at the mention of ‘puppet master.’ That was the exact impression she got of Moriarty the first time he had contacted her and she told Kavanaugh just that.

“I’m surprised you’re still alive. Most people who refuse him end up dead. He obviously has an interest in you,” he mused before taking another sip of tea.

She laughed, looking a bit manic. “Interest? He’s a psycho! He sends me dead flowers, drugs me, watches me with cameras, hacks into my phone! He’s obsessed with me!” She ranted, her voice rising as she spoke.

Kavanaugh froze. “There’s cameras?”

“Not anymore,” Mei Lin shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. “I made sure of that.”

“Well, even so it’s best we meet elsewhere to talk about this a bit more.  I won’t be in the area for the next few days but I can meet with you on Friday at 3 pm?” He rose from the sofa.

Mei Lin nodded in agreement.

“Here’s my card. If you can think of anything that could help in my investigation, don’t hesitate to call me.”

“Alright. And thanks for the offer, Agent Kavanaugh.” She followed him to the front door and unlocked it.

“See you Friday then, 3pm.”

Mei Lin locked the deadbolt as soon as he left. She sighed and felt the overwhelming urge to punch something.

_Moriarty better hope MI5 gets to him before I do_ , she fumed as she put the tea service in the kitchen. 

After she had prepared a late lunch of curry, she set about doing some more research into Sean Kavanaugh. After a few hours she managed to pull up some additional information from the database and his military record. He was a highly decorated soldier…. Joined MI5 about ten years ago, and he had an interesting resume of skills.  He seemed like someone she could trust.

She trusted only herself. She’d help Kavanaugh catch Moriarty, but then she’d strike out on her own. If she had to rebuild her reputation by scratch, so be it.

Mei Lin didn’t want to think about MI5, secret agents and obsessed psychopaths no longer. She was physically and mentally drained from the stressful situation.  She tried to take a nap, but that was pointless. She just lay there on the bed, staring at the ceiling, her mind racing…

She had thrown out her sleeping pills for fear that Moriarty had tampered with them.  If his plan was to drive her to the brink of sanity, it was working.

Suddenly her phone started blaring out ‘One Way Or Another’ and she flinched. _God, get a grip!_ She checked the number and sighed as she hit the green ‘accept’ button on the touchscreen. “Hello?”

“Hey, Regina. it’s Rick from this morning? I just wanted to check up on you.”

Mei Lin actually blushed a bit. “Oh, hi! Umm…that’s sweet of you, but you didn’t have to.”

“Well you looked a bit, dare I say …panicked when I left you with your friend. I just hoped I wasn’t leaving you in some sort of situation.”

She laughed. “Oh no, it’s fine. Really. In fact I’m meeting him tomorrow night. Just a friendly outing.” _Where did that come from?_   Why was she reassuring Rick of her intentions with Ethan?

Rick sounded relieved. “Oh good.”

“How’s work?” Mei Lin asked.  She heard Rick’s laugh and blushed again. _God, what is wrong with me today?_

“Eh…same old, same old. It’s boring. I’d rather be somewhere else, you know?”

“Don’t work too hard then,” she admonished in a teasing tone.

“No danger in that. I’m practically falling asleep over here.  Well, I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Alright, bye,” Mei Lin hung up and wanted to smack herself.

_What the hell, Mei Lin?  You meet two guys and you turn into a giggly idiot when one of them calls._

It was early evening now.  She desperately wanted to get out of the flat. Staying just made her anxious. She grabbed her purse, keys and jacket, slipped on her cross trainers and decided to take a drive.

It didn’t matter where she was going. She just needed to clear her head. Ordinarily she would have walked but she was growing ever more paranoid about walking about alone. Not that she couldn’t protect herself, but she was more concerned about a sniper’s bullet killing her more than anything else.

She had already been targeted once before and she still didn’t know the identity of her would-be assassin.

She wasn’t more than a few feet from her car when someone grabbed her from behind. She dropped her keys and struggled, feeling a blindfold being tied around her head and a gag roughly shoved into her mouth. She could hear her attackers open her car door and before she knew it, she was being shoved into the back seat by one thug while the other drove to destination unknown.

Mei Lin’s training kicked in. She paid attention to her other senses – sounds, smells.  She could smell men’s cologne but it was unfamiliar. So two men, and judging by the ease with which they were able to overpower her, they were much bigger and stronger than an average man. She heard nothing that would tip her off as to her route through the city, except for the tell-tale thud and bump of tires rolling over railroad tracks.

The car was slowing down.  They were near railroad tracks… Perhaps a deserted part of town.

Mei Lin was actually nervous. She was beginning to wonder if these two thugs were in the employ of Mr. Harbison.  Her thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt as she was roughly pulled out of the back seat and forced on her feet. She was led into a building and shoved into a chair. She felt her hands and wrists being tied behind the back of the chair, and her gag was pulled away from her mouth.

_At last_ , she thought. She licked her dry lips and coughed.  “A glass of water would be nice—“

She was almost knocked over by a fierce backhanded slap across her face and she refused to cry out in pain.

“You’ll speak when you’re told, bitch,” a gruff voice said.

She sniffed in disdain and licked her now busted and bleeding lip.

“You don’t know how hard it was for me to track you down, Zhou,” another voice growled.

She smiled in recognition at the voice and ignored the searing pain of her cut lip. “Ah, Mr. Harbison.  Perhaps you weren’t looking in the right places. I never left London.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter now. What does matter is I’ve found you and now I’m going to kill you.”

“You should get a sniper that can actually shoot. Your man is sloppy,” I smirked, imagining the looks of fury on all of their faces.

“Sniper? What the fuck are you talking about? I hired you to be the sniper and you fucked it up!” He spat angrily.

Mei Lin didn’t frown, but her mind was racing at this new piece of information. So Harbison didn’t send that sniper after her because she failed her mission?

_So who sent the sniper? Unless_ … She struggled a bit in her chair, furious with herself for not realizing it sooner.

Moriarty. He actually sent someone after her. What was his agenda? Did he want to hire her? To kill her?

….fuck her? Oh that was apparent. Unless that was just another red herring as well.

“So if you wanted to kill me, why didn’t you just shoot me in the head?” She tilted her head.

“Oh, I want you to suffer. You don’t realize how much trouble you’ve caused, simply by failing to kill that motherfucker I call a rival.”

“Great,” she smiled grimly. “Torture, then a shot in the head.”

“No shooting you in the head would be too good for you. I said I wanted you to suffer,” he said smugly.

He was silent for a moment, then Mei Lin heard footsteps …perhaps his, fade into the background. A door opened and slammed shut.

She winced at the sound of her chair being dragged by one of the goons, the metal scraping against the hard concrete floor.

Mei Lin almost cried out and bit her already bloodied lip when she felt a hot, searing pain on her shoulder.

A knife. She felt it cut deeply as it slid up her shoulder, down her arm. She hissed.

“You’re lucky that was just your shoulder. Now I’m going to do that to your face, you stupid little b—“

He didn’t get to finish that insult. Mei Lin flinched at the deafening sound of a gunshot, and felt the hot spray of blood and most likely brain matter, spatter against her face.  Another shot.

Mei Lin sat there as the echoes of gunfire faded into deathly silence.  She heard footsteps off in the distance, then nothing.  She was breathing heavily, her heart pounding fiercely in her chest.  Who was her rescuer?

The blindfold was pulled off her face and she was looking into the blue eyes of Agent Kavanaugh.  She scowled. “What the hell are you doing here?!”

“You’re welcome,” he said dryly, untying her and helping her up.

“What about Harbison?”

Kavanaugh nodded. “You don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

She wiped her face with her jacket sleeve and winced at the sight. Ugh… Dior…what a shame. “How did you find me?”

“I followed you.  To be honest, I never left the neighborhood.”

Mei Lin frowned. Great. Not one but TWO stalkers. “When you meant protection, you meant yourself. I see. Well you didn’t have to watch over me personally.”

“Perhaps I wanted to,” he stared at her evenly.

She blushed a bit at his stare. “Oh. Umm…. Isn’t that against regulations or something? Falling for the bad guy?” She laughed.

Kavanaugh chuckled. “Come on. I have some towels in the car you can use and a first aid kit.”

They headed outside and he pulled a towel out of the trunk for her to use. He wrapped her cut shoulder and arm with gauze as she wiped her face again, trying to get more of the blood off.

“So now what?”

“I wouldn’t go back to your flat now.  It’s the first place they’ll look for you,” he finished wrapping her shoulder.

Mei Lin gulped. “They?”

“I’ve been keeping track of the people that you’ve worked for. Some of them are unhappy with you. They’re so unhappy that they wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet between your eyes.”

She groaned. “I’m not staying in a safe house. No. I’ll just go back and grab a few things—”

Kavanaugh grabbed her by her uninjured arm. “Don’t you understand?! They’re coming after you. You’ll have to stay at my flat.”

She froze. “What?”

“They wouldn’t think to look there.  Stay there until I can assure your safety.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t like this.”

“Neither do I.”

Mei Lin laughed sarcastically. “Liar.”

Agent Kavanaugh hid a smile. “Can you follow me in your car?”

She sighed. It looked like she wouldn’t be able to dissuade him from his offer. It was a kind offer, but she didn’t trust him.   Perhaps she had no choice now.  She nodded, holding her bandaged and bloody arm. “Fine, lead the way.”

==

It wasn’t a long drive, but Kavanaugh’s flat was on the other side of London. He unlocked the door and stood off to the side. “After you.”

Mei Lin stepped inside, looking very unsure. It was a very nice apartment but that’s not what was bothering her.

“So, umm…. I’ll take the couch—“

“I have a spare room. It has a futon, so you won’t have to sleep on the couch,” he explained.

She nodded. “Good. Where can I wash up?”

He showed her the bathroom and left her some fresh towels and soap. “Umm… I know these will be too big for you, but at least they’re clean,” he placed one of his t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants on the pile of towels.

Mei Lin gave a small, but grateful smile. “If I forgot to say thanks earlier—“

“Don’t mention it. Can you slip your arm out of that shirt? I should clean that properly.“

She winced as she did as she was told and stared at her shoulder. “Will I need stitches?”

He pulled out the antiseptic. “Yeah. A couple.  Can you handle that?”

Mei Lin shrugged. “I can handle pain.” She bit her lip as he cleaned her wounds and stitched her up.

He looked up at her and frowned. “Want some peroxide for your lip?”

She nodded her thanks and applied the moistened gauze to her lip, watching Kavanaugh’s reflection in the mirror. “You’re good with stitches.”

“Got a lot of practice unfortunately.”

She frowned, seeing a few scars on his arms, one peeking out of his open shirt…..she couldn’t stop staring at his neck. It seemed a shame such a gorgeous body would be marred with scars— _wait, what the hell?_ Her face flushed as she felt his hand on hers.

“All done,” He bit back a yawn and stepped out of the bathroom. “Well, it’s late. I’m turning in,” he called out.

“Alright,” she stood there alone, holding her bloodied jacket to her chest. She stared at herself in the mirror. She looked like the main character in a horror story – blood stained her skin and bits of bone and brain matter still clung in her hair, her arm scarred with stitches. She groaned at the sight of her favorite designer jacket covered in blood and almost wanted to cry.

How did she end up here? Oh she knew.  She could blame one person and his name was James Moriarty.

She had nothing now. She didn’t even have £5,000. It was back at the flat. It would seem that she would have to depend entirely on her rescuer and MI5 for everything – money, shelter, protection – and she absolutely hated it.

She suddenly wished it was Moriarty’s blood that was staining her skin, hair and clothes. 

Losing her Dior jacket wouldn’t have been nearly be as painful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm....did I say I was going to go easy on her? I guess I lied. XD
> 
> Please don't forget to leave me feedback. Reviews help feed my muse and my insecure ego, lol.
> 
> And no flames or I'll use them to roast marshmallows on your burning corpses. (no, I'm kidding....maybe)


	7. Chapter 7

Hi everyone. This isn't a new chapter, just a tiny update.

I'm in the middle of a big move (to Nevada) so I have been extremely busy, and I've been suffering from a major case of writer's block. My muse sort of took a vacation and didn't leave me a note. :/  
I'm sure she'll be back soon but until I have more free time to write, it may be a few more days before I post the next chapter.  
Sorry to keep you in suspense.


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